Life, Chapter Two

From corporate executive to board director, Jenifer Thien's journey shows the power of intentional career shifts and leveraging work experience

- Elizabeth Soong

Jenifer Thien had a successful career at Mars Incorporated, a company famous for its confectionery products like M&Ms and Snickers, but also a big player in the pet food industry with brands like Pedigree, Whiskers and Royal Canin. During her 25-year journey with Mars, Thien took on diverse leadership roles and drove significant business transformations in supply chain, procurement and risk management. She also spearheaded sustainability initiatives long before they became mainstream.

“I had a really fantastic career,” says Thien, whose last role with Mars was as global chief procurement officer based in Chicago—the first woman and first Asian to be appointed this vital leadership position. “I was quite fortunate to have been able to do a lot of things with them, but I’ve always wanted to have a second chapter where the theme is more about giving back or paying it forward. It’s about leveraging my experience to help others and helping companies create value.”

In 2019, she retired from Mars and returned to Malaysia, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. She set up Grit and Pace, a consultancy focused on advisory work. Along the way, she met mentors and sponsors who encouraged her to get involved in board work, seeing it as the perfect avenue to add value. “I have experienced situations where, if the executive team has a very strong partnership with the board, you’ll know the business will do very well. Conversely, I’ve also seen situations where very good executive teams, very good talent, can’t reach the peak of their performance because they don’t have that kind of rapport with the board. So for me, it makes sense that I feel like I can play a part and add value in that whole equation. That was why I chose to get myself involved with board work.”